The Lee/Dee scene was a pick up scene shot much later. Which would maybe explain why Lee looked thinner. Ron didn’t talk much about this other than it shows Lee having trouble living with the decision to lead the fleet. Just as Adama had trouble turning his back on his people, Lee is having the same problem, turning his back on his dad and the people.

They were always going to destroy Pegasus at the beginning of season. There was something “pure” in having Galactica be the last surviving battlestar. Plus, the Pegasus sets were eating up studio space they didn’t have and there were story considerations in having to keep it populated and keep people over there.

Tigh & Ellen – Ellen’s price would have to be a severe one. As leader of the resistance Tigh knew something had to be done and he would have to be the one to do it. Her death was originally to take place in Pt 1. When her character was introduced in season 1 they didn’t know where they were going to take Ellen. It was hard on everyone deciding to kill her off. But there was a certain nobility to her death in that she was trying to do the best she could. Does she know? Ron thinks she might, but he seems to want to leave the question open. Tigh’s actions will reverberate throughout rest of the season. He does not recover from this easily, if ever. He had to impose the same harsh code on himself and his wife, the one he expected his men to follow.

The Baltar/D’Anna/Dorel scene was added later.

The rescue, as originally written, involved both battlestars working together. Galactica appeared to be destroyed at one point after a nuke was launched at it. During the nuke flash, Galactica was to jump away into a low orbit, fight off the Cylons, and help the ships leave the planet. After Galactica completed its part it jumped away and Pegasus was pummeled by the Cylons. Once he realized Pegasus was going to be destroyed, Lee then makes it a suicide mission. Ron didn’t think it worked and then decided to work in the training maneuver into the plan.

There was to be a Cylon control center, but it was cut for costs.

In talking about the Galactica’s dropping into the atmosphere and then jumping away, Ron said “We better win the fucking Emmy for this this year or a swear to God…” Ok, I admit, I laughed at that.

The rational for Galactica being able to drop into the atmosphere is that if Galactica can take a hit from a nuke and still be OK (as it did in the mini) then it has enough structural integrity to fall through atmosphere. And Galactica is going to live with damage it sustained for awhile.

The moment that someone faces death, how they react, tells a lot about a person. Adama chooses to look at those around him and say, “It’s been an honor.”

Ron compared the scene in which D’Anna announces the plan to nuke the city as ‘Hitler in the bunker’.

James Callis apparently had a lot to say about how Baltar appeared as he’s challenging Gaeta. He wanted to show the fatalism in that scene. Baltar is a man at the end of his rope and ready to check out for the first time. Part of him wants death and wants Gaeta to shoot him. But there is no victory in that moment. When Gaeta lowers the gun , he’s shocked that he’s going to live and have to disarm the nuke.

The scene in which Pegasus is destroyed does not fit with the documentary style of the series. It’s a hyper real idea - the wing breaking off, the name clearly visible, and it taking out a second basestar. But they/we would want the drama and satisfaction of the moment.

Kara & Leoben – Kara has to give a little bit of her soul to save the child. She has a need for child and child’s life so Kara will give him this (the declaration of love, the kiss). But is there a hint on her face that what he did worked on her? Is it all a ruse on her part? It’s another open question. And Leoben is willing to die because he got what he wanted. Who really won the battle?

I found it interesting Ron referred to Colonial One as “Laura’s house” and mentioned nothing about the presidency or her reclaiming it.

Kara & Kacey – “One last mindfuck”, it wasn’t her baby after all. Leoben has his victory, he played a complete mind game on her. And then Ron made some comments about the audience buying into her having a child now and wondering how they were going to deal wit that. Um, Ron, you really don’t know us.

The scene in Colonial One is actually from the next episode (hence wardrobe improvements!). But the next ep was running long on time, they didn’t want to lose the scene, and they felt it worked better here since it brings that story to its completion.

The final shot of Adama went on longer. We were to see him walk through the halls to the CIC and, once there, he is faced with a bunch of problems. All of which he greets with a smile.

Ron made some comments about the audience buying into her having a child now and wondering how they were going to deal with that. Um, Ron, you really don’t know us.

I saw a lot of people around LJ who were really into that storyline, so there must have been an audience for the whole thing. It just wasn't my flist. Heh. I just wish I could explain to him that not every woman's greatest ambition is to be a mom, and that it's okay for Starbuck to be one of those women.

I know several people who enjoyed Kara's storyline, but none assumed that Kacey would be sticking around for very long. It just seemed like Ron assumed the vast majority of us believe Kara would be a mom from here on out and I didn't sense that was a widely held belief.

since i was unspoiled, i was actually wondering how kara would deal with having a child. i was genuinely interested in seeing that. maybe i'm just a little too naive. :)

i THOUGHT lee looked thinner. ha! so that's the reason!

thanx for the link. really interesting post. tons of fun reading it, reading the comments, and answering. i touched briefly on the issue in my review, but since it didn't bother me at all i didn't dwell much on it. i guess i just explained it to myself really easily then let go of it. for whatever reason it just made sense (in my head) what laura did. *shrug*

Ron seemed to think that we all would believe Kacey was a permenant fixture and be shocked when her mother showed up. I just didn't recall anyone, even non-spoiled folks, thinking that Kacey would be around for very long. Maybe my belief that babies = bad when it comes to TV series made me assume no one would think Kara would be a full time mom.

I didn't have any issues with what Laura did because a) Zarek seemed fine with her decision to go to Colonial One and b) we don't know how the presidential situation is going to play out in upcoming eps. But I thought Widget made some verying interesting points as to the legitimacy of Laura becoming president once more and how the characters have repeatedly gone against the law. Though I liked your points about it being preferable to break the law in some instances if it's the right thing to do.

Ron made some comments about the audience buying into her having a child now and wondering how they were going to deal wit that. Um, Ron, you really don’t know usHmm. Well, I liked the plot as it played out--I get that Kara got hooked into identifying Kasey as her child. To me wanting to have a child and not abandonning a child you learn is yours are not the same thing, so it didn't conflict with my sense that Kara doesn't want to be a mum. And she'd been mind-frakked enough to believe Kasey was hers. Her joy at the end, bringing Kasey home to Galactica, I attributed to her needing to feel victory over Leoben and having won Kasey away from him, because she must have feared for her--she was hardly thinking ahead to actually being a mum. But if I'm the target audience Ron's thinking of, the ones who liked that plot arc, then he's off the mark, because I was glad it got cut off where it did. I don't want to actually see her have a child! Irk.

He had to impose the same harsh code on himself and his wife, the one he expected his men to follow.

I like that interpretation; I think it's very true of Tigh.

And then Ron made some comments about the audience buying into her having a child now and wondering how they were going to deal wit that.

This, on the other hand, makes me yet again wonder what Ron's smoking.

I found it interesting Ron referred to Colonial One as “Laura’s house” and mentioned nothing about the presidency or her reclaiming it.

It makes sense to me. I didn't take Laura's return to Colonial One as an explicit reclamation of the presidency, but rather as her taking up once again a leadership role. I fully expect one of the plotlines in the next few episodes to involve Baltar's succession.

I think Laura definitely expected to come back to the fleet and take on a leadership role. And I think she'd like to be president again, but considering the new respect that she and Zarek seem to have for each other I don't see her going about any underhanded means to get her old job back. My theory (and yes, it is a theory!) is that Zarek won't want the presidency or will be honest enough to admit he can't do as well as she, step aside, and with no one else to fill the role, Laura will become president again.